Everyone gets a Christmas ham from police in Oakley, but lawsuits overshadow the good will

OAKLEY, MI — Every home in the village of Oakley got a surprise gift from the police department during the 2013 holiday season: a free ham.

"Happy Holidays from the Oakley Police Department and Volunteer Reserve Unit. We would like to take the time to thank you, the Oakley community, for your support throughout the year," a note accompanying each ham stated.

The police department provides more than just hams to the village.

Since 2008, when Chief of Police Robert Reznick was hired, donations to the police department have funded purchases of a police car, police golf cart and $28,000 in playground equipment for the town. In 2013, the fund gave each resident $45 to help pay for sewer project costs.

Donations have also covered most of the department's $38,000 in operating expenses, according to village officials.

Oakley Chief of Police Robert Reznick

"We do nothing but good for the village," Reznick said. "We do everything we can."

The money comes, in part, from a large police department reserve unit made up of as many as 100 people. By comparison, Oakley's entire population is about 300 people.

The names of the reservists, where they live, and amount they contribute to the department isn't public information, although it has been the target of a lawsuit that recently made its way into Saginaw's court system.

Reznick said the reserve force includes doctors, lawyers, business people, plumbers and others. When they are working in the village, they all carry guns, Reznick said, noting they are all qualified with the necessary training and most have more training than required.

"They're all volunteers, some guys donate money. They come to training and qualify four times a year," he said. "Some have gone through the academy. It gives them training, not certification. They're always with a certified guy."

Not everyone in Oakley is happy with Reznick or the police department.

Shannon Bitterman owns the Family Tavern in Oakley with her husband, Dennis. She claims the police department is giving the bar and its patrons a tough time, especially when it plays host to an annual motorcycle run.

The couple has filed several lawsuits since 2010 against the department and the village, including an unsuccessful bid to get the names of the current members of the police department's reserve force.

Shannon Bitterman

"(Reznick) is trying to take away our business and doing a pretty good job at it," she said. "We tried every avenue trying not to put our village through this. I'm kind of anti-lawsuit, but here we are, just to protect our business."

Reznick has a different opinion of what's going on in town.

"Bitterman makes money from the motorcycle weekend, a lot of money," Reznick said. "He does not want a police presence there."

Safety 'number one priority'

The Village of Oakley Police Department has 12 certified officers including the chief, Reznick said. Some of the officers are training officers.

The group of volunteer reservists sometimes helps with events in the village and reservists sometimes go on ride-alongs with certified officers, he said.

"All of them qualify with their guns and they're available for an emergency," he said.

The department sometimes asks for reservists to help provide enforcement at an event, such as the annual bike run at the Oakley Family Tavern.

Today, a majority of the village board stands behind the department's reserve force.

A March 18 statement, signed by Village President Doug Shindorf, Clerk Cheryl Bolf, and trustees Richard Shuster, Sue Dingo and John Lorencz, reads:

“The Village of Oakley remains committed to its residents, in part, through the generosity of the Oakley Police Reservists. This organization was appointed by the Village Council in 2008 to lend support to the community through essential items needed for residents’ safety and overall quality of life. These community investments help alleviate the Village’s budget constraints.

It continues:

"Every investment has been made with the Oakley residents in mind. We will continue to work with the Oakley Police Reservists to make the Village a growing and vibrant place to live."

The names of trustees Dennis Bitterman, Francis Kosky and Norman Wolfe are missing from the document.

During a meeting to discuss the village budget on March 24, the board asked Reznick to up the annual amount of donations he brings in to the township from $30,000 to $50,000, Shindorf said, to cover village expenses.

Reznick said he feels "without this reserve unit, the village would never survive."

'Come and leave safely'

Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel said he would not comment about the "politics of local policing" regarding the Village of Oakley, but said residents can take any issues they have to the local government, the village council, that oversees the police department.

"I really don't care what Oakley is doing as long as they're following the law," Federspiel said.

Asked about the village's reserve force of about 100, he said, "that seems like a lot, but if that's what the local people want, I don't have a problem with it."

Federspiel said it would not be fair to compare the sheriff's reserve force, with 85 members, to the village's force, because they serve different roles and cover different areas.

Not all Saginaw municipalities have reserve officers. That includes Saginaw Township, which maintains a regular police department to oversee the township of 40,000 residents.

The Frankenmuth Police Department, which patrols Frankenmuth and Frankenmuth Township, has an armed volunteer reserve unit of 25 to 30 people.

They help out during big events, several of which bring more than 100,000 people to town, Chief Don Mawer said.

Frankenmuth's reserve force is supported by donations that are made publicly, Mawer said.

In the case of the village of Oakley, donors to the police department have requested to remain anonymous, and a recent court ruling has upheld their right to privacy. The ruling also said the names of those on the reserve force can be kept private.

Chief Reznick said his department operates quietly even as it raises funds for the village.

"We're not a major enforcement agency. We don't write a lot of tickets. We give breaks," he said. "We want you to come and leave safely."

Department a lightning rod

Trustee Dennis Bitterman filed a lawsuit against Reznick and the village in May 2013, alleging harassment and intimidation by the chief and improper handling of his complaints by the village council.

Dennis Bitterman

The alleged incident that sparked the complaint and later lawsuit was in 2012, before Bitterman became a board member.

Several other lawsuits from Bitterman and his wife, Shannon, have followed and are related to the couple's complaints against the chief, Shannon Bitterman said.

Shannon Bitterman said suing the village to her is like "pooping in my backyard."

"I don't need it," she said, noting that the lawsuits have led to the village's loss of insurance. "People like to point the finger at the Bittermans for filing the lawsuits, but what else are we going to do?"

She says the police department is affecting the business that has operated in town for the past 31 years.

The lawsuit is one of five suits filed by the Bittermans against the village, which has contributed to the Michigan Municipal League deciding not to renew the village's insurance coverage. Coverage will halt on July 1 and the village could pay thousands more annually to secure a new policy elsewhere.

Reznick said he feels the basis for the lawsuits are a bar that isn't willing to follow the rules.

Reznick said the department does not give special attention to the tavern but that several incidents have led to alleged violations there.

During the most recent motorcycle run in September 2013, Reznick said he received complaints from residents of loud noise, over-serving of alcohol and nudity inside the bar as bikers from a motorcycle club served as bouncers, Reznick said. The Bittermans deny his claims.

"It's all been documented," Reznick said, noting he is forwarding a complaint to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.

"No law enforcement agency is going to allow a bar to run out of control," he said.

When asked if she plans to file more lawsuits against the village, Shannon Bitterman responded, "I would like to avoid it."

"But with how we're being treated, I can imagine there will be more," she said. "If Reznick continues as police chief, I guarantee it."

Reznick said the situation in Oakley has him frustrated. He said he has offered to resign if that is what village leaders want, but said, "they don't want me to."